Privatisation Commission bags three international awards in one year

The Privatisation Commission has made a hat-trick, as it has been awarded with three international awards in 2015 in recognition of its transactional work on the divestment of GoP shareholding in HBL and ABL. The awards have been awarded by The Asset, one of Asia’s most prestigious corporate ranking journals. In 2014, PC had already won two international awards for its transactional work on UBL.

One of the highest recognition bestowed upon the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan is the ‘best privatisation in the region’ award for Government of Pakistan’s divestment of 41.5% stake in HBL.

Mr. Muhammad Zubair, Chairman Privatisation Commission called the awards a recognition of the Government of Pakistan’s privatisation program. Mr. Zubair stated that “receiving international recognition for our work reflects the sincere commitment of the Privatisation Commission in ensuring that each transaction is completed through a transparent, effective and financially viable process that aims to benefit both the Government and the people of Pakistan. These awards are also a clear indicator of the strong, clear and transparent processes, which the Privatisation Commission has set up for each transaction. I am happy that the efforts made by our team have given Pakistan a recognition at the global level as well as further strengthened the government’s privatization agenda in Pakistan, where it has often been a challenge to attract foreign investor interest.”

The HBL transaction generated gross proceeds of PKR 102 billion (equivalent to USD 1.005 Billion), including foreign exchange inflow of over USD 764 millionwith over 45 global equity participating with total demand of over 725 Million shares against offer size of around 609 million.

It also has a record domestic demand of over PKR 45 Billion with over 480 investors participating, generating demand of over 253 Million shares, making it the largest ever equity offering in Pakistan as well as in Asian Frontier Markets. The financial advisors for this transaction were Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Arif Habib and Elixir Securities. The Habib Bank transaction also won in the category of ‘Deal of the Year’, whereas Government of Pakistan’s privatisation of 11.5% stake of ABL won the ‘Deal of the Year – Highly Commended’ award, as the GOP Shares in ABL raised gross sale proceeds of PKR 14.4 billion against the offering of PKR 110 per share.

The ‘Asset Triple A Awards’ are Asia’s preeminent recognition for those that have excelled in their respective industry. With close to 20 years of experience conducing awards programs, ‘The Asset award’ programs are built upon a stringent methodology that is combined with a rigorous approach in selecting the best institutions operating within Asia.